Moorestown’s Juniors Girl Scout Troop 20002 will collect unwrapped toys and other items for children in need at the township’s annual holiday parade on Saturday, Dec. 2.
The effort marks the troop’s third year of working on the drive with the Burlington County Sheriff’s Office.
“When we came up with the idea to collect something, I started doing some research, because I really wanted it to be something local,” said troop co-leader Robyn Jarman, “and so I just kept looking for local businesses or someone that would collect toys locally and then give them to families in our area…
“ … I think some people truly forget that there’s so many people in our immediate area that need help,” she added. “But we really wanted to do something that would touch the families around us.”
The holiday parade will be held from noon to 2 p.m. This year’s theme is “The Nutcracker,” and the rain-or-shine outdoor event will start on Chester Avenue, travel down Main Street and end at Church Street. The tradition will include floats, fire trucks, the Boy and Girl Scouts, marching bands and other entertainment.
Guests can look for Troop 20002’s banner referencing the toy drive, but there will also be donation boxes located at the Philly Pretzel Factory on Main Street and Harmony Village at Stanwick Road.
“I think that ideally, we just want them (the troops) to appreciate what they have, and always just continue throughout the rest of their life trying to give to others,” Jarman explained. “Just knowing how fortunate we all are, we really want them to know, ‘Okay, I can provide for my family, but what can I do for others?’
“We’re hoping that teaching them this young can continue it for the rest of their lives.”
Melissa Lestini, the troop’s other leader, noted that the group started in the spring of 2021 as a way for the girls to still come together during COVID.
“Since that time, the troop has really come together and really gelled as a troop where all of the girls bring so much of themselves in terms of their individuality, their interests,” she pointed out. “Watching them all bring their unique qualities together to work towards a common goal or to work towards learning something or helping each other or helping others, has been just amazing to see.”
The troop members made their own costumes for the parade, and they will also be performing a dance at the event. But the toy drive is something with which they’re always happy to help.
“Robyn was actually the one who started this and had the idea for the troop to collect toys and helped to organize all of that in the first year,” Lestini recalled. “And then it continued on last year and (now) this year, which has been great.
“And now the girls ask, ‘Are we going to be collecting toys again?’ … They get very excited when people are donating.”
